


MasterChef: Supernatural

by Deansimpallagrl, WuvWinchesterHugs



Category: MasterChef (TV) RPF, Supernatural
Genre: Competition, Cooking, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 11:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18916171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deansimpallagrl/pseuds/Deansimpallagrl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WuvWinchesterHugs/pseuds/WuvWinchesterHugs
Summary: A little fix where it's Dean's time to shine on the show MasterChef, and gets to show off his dishes for us and Mr. Gordon Ramsay.





	1. Audition

Dean has his game face on.  He always does when it comes to Sammy.  His brother’s pure face is looking excitedly at Dean from a crowd of people in a large room.  The air in the room is practically vibrating with the excitement from all the people gathered there.  This is a huge opportunity for Dean. He's been raising his little brother on his own, and needs this to get them to a place they can stop living hand to mouth.  Food has always been important to Dean for as long as he can remember. Maybe even longer. It was something they always needed and when they had enough, it was a comfort.  Sam gives him a thumbs up as Dean’s name is spoken from speakers above them. He hugs Sammy and gives a thumbs up back before turning to walk through the big doors, along with his fellow contestant.

Dean struts in through a huge kitchen towards the three celebrity chefs on MasterChef, almost shaking with nerves, but his cocky grin says otherwise.  He steps up to his counter and without staring at everything, sees all the ingredients around him. The major ingredient for this audition is bacon. It's like a dream come true; bacon is one of Dean’s favorite foods.  But he still has Sammy on his mind, so he decides on a fancy version of Mac and Cheese. But he knows it needs to look good as well as taste good, and that's Dean’s weakness when it comes to cooking. He is not too great at presentation, but he’s gonna do this right.  He can’t let Sammy down.

 

The chefs tell them both they have 30 minutes to prepare the food. After he and his competitor Tom have said what they will make, the timer starts.  Dean starts with putting the bacon in the oven to cook immediately so he can control the doneness of the bacon. Then he starts to boil the water for the elbow macaroni, sprinkling a little salt in the water to help the noodles stay separated, then adding a little oil as well.

While all that's going on, he cuts the Gruyere cheese and the cheddar. He starts a small saucepan, heating the milk slowly as he also starts melting butter in another pan. He checks the water and dumps in the macaroni before checking the bacon. Once it’s done, he pulls it out to let it cool on paper towels as he stirs the macaroni, then combines flour with butter, stirring and adding in the cheeses and milk, making a delicious cheese sauce.

He checks the clock and decides to wait another minute for the macaroni so he can crumble the cooling bacon into chunks. He pulls the macaroni off and strains out the water, then uses a little cool water to rinse it. Dean adds in some minced garlic and paprika to the cheese sauce, and then combines all of it in a baking dish and slips it in the oven for the final cooking interval. He pulls it out of the oven with 5 minutes left to make sure the plating is perfect, sweating but determined. He spoons out a medium portion in the middle of the plate and uses a butter knife to make the pile more rounded, then sprinkles bleu cheese crumbles around it as well as bacon on top of that for a crunchy little after taste. He sighs as the buzzer goes off and they call, “Hands up!”. Dean smiles and holds up his hands, feeling excited.

Dean goes second, watching as Tom’s bacon wrapped jalapenos are sampled.  The Chef’s are harsh because his recipe is so basic, but the taste is still good.  Dean’s worried he picked the wrong recipe; it's basic as well, but with some additions to make it awesome.  He'd fed it to Sam for years before realizing it was a recipe fit for a restaurant. Dean keeps picturing Sam’s face and his earnest look of confidence in Dean.  

When it's his turn, Dean presents his food and watches as each judge tastes it, satisfying sounds coming from each judge.

“Dean, Dean, Dean.” Gordon Ramsay says. “You have most definitely raised the classic dish of Mac and Cheese to a whole new level.  The different cheeses give it a refreshing tang and the bacon gives it a nice crunch. The only criticism here is how you presented it.  It's like you were serving it to a child.” Dean flinches at the criticism, but Gordon Ramsay isn't finished. “However, that's something that can be learned. You're moving on to the next round.”  

Ramsay gives Dean a rare smile and almost laughs at Dean’s surprised smile and fist pump.

The other judges agree and compliment the dish.  When they leave the room, Tom nods to Dean and walks out, while Dean heads back to Sam in the room with the other family members.  He walks in, and Sam’s almost dancing from foot to foot waiting for the answer.

“I’m in!”  Dean shows off his apron to Sammy and throws his arms around him and lifts him up, twirling him around in a circle.  Sam’s long legs for a 13-year-old almost hit others but his laugh makes everyone smile. The picture of the brothers celebrating make all the women get that goofy smile they usually reserve for babies and puppies. 

“Awesome, Dean!  What did you make?”  Sam has loved Dean’s cooking for as long as he can remember.  Nothing was ever pre packaged or frozen; his brother loved to make everything from scratch.  Sam has never doubted Dean could make it onto the show, and it was his constant hounding that finally got him to put in an application.

“Just mac and cheese. But they loved it! Who knew I’d be able to make Gordon Ramsay smile?”  Dean's still high on adrenaline. He's feeling a little more confident in his abilities, but he knows that he has to work on a way to make a bigger impression on the judges.  Once the preliminary round’s over, he'll be competing with good chefs, chefs that actually work in the food industry, and he’s gonna need an edge to put himself out there. His plating technique is obviously his biggest weakness;  maybe he'll be able to watch others and get an idea.

“Hey Sammy, do you think you can do me a favor later?”  Dean loves the excitement Sam gets every time he thinks he can help his big brother.

“Hell yeah, Dean.”  Sam covers his mouth with one hand looking around.

“Relax, Sam. I just need you to research something when we get back to the hotel.”  Dean ruffles Sam’s hair, trying not to giggle at how scared Sam looked about someone hearing him swear.  To Dean it wasn’t really a swear but to the general public, it would be.

They wait as a few more people go in and come back.  Soon a PA comes to explain to Dean they have another hour or two before they need everyone back to give instructions for the ones moving on.  At that, Dean and Sam decide to go off and grab some lunch. Dean's too nervous to have a full meal, but he watches Sam shovel his food in at an alarming rate.  He's a growing boy, and Dean's pretty sure Sam will be taller than him someday. Most people see Sam and think he's already 18.

Dean gets lost in thought about what will happen if this opportunity doesn’t work out like he's hoping.  It's a big show and there's never a guarantee you won’t get cut just for drama’s sake. Dean thinks with the publicity from the show alone, he might be able to open his own restaurant anyway, and that would be a dream come true for Dean.  The confidence that Sam has in his big brother always makes Dean feel like he can do anything. Sam's always telling him he’s the best Sam's ever known, and he believes it most of the time. Sam always says, “I got your back, big brother.” before any big event.  It's his own way of reassuring Dean that he can do it.

There are these moments when he remembers why he’s raising Sam by himself, and it gets harder to believe.  His family on his mom’s side has always managed to keep in touch and has helped them through a few jams. Dean doesn’t like counting on charity, so he only asks when he feels like it’s absolutely necessary.  

Dean started having to raise Sam when he was 13 and Sam was only 4. Their mom died in a bad car accident, but their father lived. He had a broken pelvis and Dean had to take care of them both. His dad was so sad he didn’t want to live.  Dean kept all that hidden from Sam, who was too young to know exactly what was going on. Sam thought of Dean as his father most of the time. He doesn’t really remember John. John died when Sam was 5. He couldn’t take life without his beloved Mary.  He just didn’t care for himself and Dean had too much to do with going to school and taking care of Sam and his dad. He was at school when he got the call. His dad had gotten behind the wheel of their only vehicle and hit a semi head on. He died and Dean didn’t have a way to do anything. He was 14 going on 15 and a big kid. His aunt Rose came and stayed with them for awhile just to make sure they were ok. Dean told her he needed to keep Sam with him. She agreed to check in on them and when he was old enough she would help them get a car. She saved them both from the system.  They might have been separated and neither of them would have done well with that. It only took a few years to get to 18 and Dean could do everything without another’s permission. Those years were not easy, and as a result Dean barely skated through High School.

Shaking off the old memories, they eat a simple fast food meal as a treat.  Dean didn’t want to go too far away from the competition, and he wanted this time to relax a little.  His jaw’s so tight from worry he can barely eat, but one look at Sam’s happy face makes him relax. That right there is the reason he’s doing all this.  Sammy is the reason he does everything. That kid is his whole world and can’t imagine not having him in his life. Sam really is the fire and energy Dean needs to keep going.  Sam has always questioned what happened to their family, but doesn’t dwell on it too long. He loves and trusts in Dean because Dean has never let him down. They chat quietly through the meal and talk about the future they might have if Dean wins.

Finally they're done, and hurry back to the show. Sam takes himself to the restroom and Dean tries to get his game face back on.  A voice at his elbow makes him jump.

“Hello.”  A petite brunette with brown eyes and a bright smile is looking sweetly at him.

“Oh. Hi. You scared me.”  Dean blows out a breath and his cheeks turn pink.

“Sorry, I just wanted to tell you your son is so sweet. My name’s Ellie.”  She holds out her little hand with blood red nails.

“Hi Ellie, I’m Dean and Sam is my brother.  And thanks. He’s a good kid.” Dean likes to brag about Sam to others.

“I see.  He’s been so polite and picked up my purse for me earlier.  It slid off the chair I had it on and he brought it back to me.  He knew it was mine. Seems very observant for a teenager.” Ellie can feel the love coming from Dean just by the pride in his eyes.

“That’s Sammy for you.  He watches out for everyone, always helping me.  I think I might have to talk him into getting a public service job.”  Dean is so glad he can connect over his favorite subject. He just hopes she isn’t part of the competition.  He doesn’t want to get close to any competitors.

“I think you’re right.  I'm just here for my sister, so I understand. It looks like something’s starting.  Hope to see you both again.” Ellie waves and slips back into the crowd just as Sammy comes back.  Dean almost tells him about the encounter, but the speakers call all contestants back to the kitchen.  Sam smiles and shoves Dean towards the door. Dean laughs and goes with the crowd.

Sam is curled up in a ball in a corner when Dean comes back.  He isn’t snoring, but he's slowly slipping into sleep. Dean looks at his watch and realizes it's past Sam’s bedtime.  He gently wakes Sam and they head for the hotel room together.


	2. Pre Challenge Prep, Part 1

They pick up take out for dinner and it's just the pick-me-up Sam needed, ready to help Dean research.  They eat and chat, then after cleaning up the garbage Dean lets Sam in on the next challenge.

“We’re gonna be competing against each other for only 3 spots.  There's two groups now. My group is the second one for filming so I’m off until Friday.  The challenge is going to be working as a team to cook a full meal for some guest judges. We haven’t really chatted too much about how we will split the work yet.  I think I just need to have a few ideas to throw out when we get together to plan the menu tomorrow. They won’t tell us the theme for the challenge or the food we'll be working with, so we’ll just try to figure out who will be best at what course.  I’m not at my best with appetizers or soups, so I think we can both look for recipes and then get a few I can try to memorize. I've got a really good feeling about this, Sammy.” Dean’s so excited he's talking a mile a minute.

“Whoa slow down there, big brother.  I know you’re ready for this. I think we need to look for simple recipes so you can give them your special spark to make them your own.  You know I have your back big brother!” Sam hugs Dean tight and they both breathe sighs of relief.

They both always feel better when they're together.  They sit and research for a while. When Dean looks up an hour later, poor Sam is sound asleep on his keyboard.  Dean wakes him up enough to go to bed and after tucking him in, he goes to look at the recipes and see what Sam found.  After looking through a few tabs, he's already grinning. Sam always knows how Dean thinks and what he does best. Everything he chose is well within Dean’s power to do, and even some room for improvement.  

Dean shuts down both computers and goes through his nightly routine.  He lets some of the recipes roll around in his mind as he drifts off; a good night’s sleep will help. 

He hasn’t been sleeping well ever since he got the email from his Aunt Rose. She wants to come see them, and she doesn't know anything about the competition.  Dean had kept it from Sam because he'd let her know they were busy and was preventing her from coming to visit for now. Sam loves to see her, but Dean can tell this wouldn't be a normal visit.  Her tone suggests it's something bad. Dean wants to protect Sam from all of the awful things that happened in his life. He quickly shakes off the thoughts and turns off the lights turning on his side to face Sam, Sam's snoring music to his ears.


	3. Group Audition and Elimination

The next day is a blur of activity.  Dean had assumed when he wasn’t filming, he'd have time to both prep for the challenge and hang out with Sam.  Instead he wound up having to deal with the other people on his team. No one could decide where to meet or when.  Most of them had family and wanted to do other things. A few were ready to work on it, but it was a small group and they refused to do anything without the rest of the group.  

Dean's so frustrated and tense by this point; he does not play well with others.  Sam can feel the tension, but he can’t tell if it's from the contest or Dean feeling extremely out of his element.

In the early evening, the group finally meets, but nothing was decided for sure. They were all arguing about how much better they thought they were.  The egos in this group are so frustrating to Dean. He finally walked out mid fight because nothing was getting done. He took Sam to bed and spent most of the night looking up more recipes.  Sam was up the next morning with coffee ready and ready to go to breakfast. He knows Dean needs coffee if he's gonna have a chance of being a halfway decent human being. Dean mumbles his thanks and finishes the cup before showering and is back to his old perky self before they head for breakfast, then the studio. 

As soon as they get there, Dean falls back into tension and stress. Everyone's giving him the stink eye. Since he walked out, it’s like they blame him for them not making any progress. He still has his game face on and stands his ground, telling them, “If you assholes hadn't been too busy fighting, we might've made some progress last night.” No one is talking to each other by the time they go to record.  So really, the mess that came out of their session is no surprise to Dean whatsoever.

Sam sees Dean and already knows something's very wrong.  Dean smiles, but it never reaches his eyes. He nods to the others, but they quickly leave. As soon as they’re on the street, Dean tells Sam the bad news.

“I’m out of the competition, Sam. I don’t know what happened.”  Dean runs a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. Sam knows that's Dean code for this is bad.

“It’s okay, Dean. Just tell me what happened” Sam touches Dean’s hand softly, just to let him know he's there for support.

“It was a complete disaster.  They all decided to gang up on me.  I made an amazing vegetable dish with brussels sprouts with nuts and butter.

It was delicious when I tasted it. The assholes on my team decided to dump a little powdered garlic on it before the judges got to it.  I don’t think they got it on tape, because after the chefs ripped me a new one and told me I was out, the rest of them gave me smug smiles and high fived each other. All because I walked out on a full-blown temper tantrum. Guess they found a reason to work together after all.” Dean walks slowly, voice low and sad.

“Dean, look at me.”  Sam stops and Dean goes a few steps before his brain catches up.  He turns and heads back to Sam.

“Yeah, Sammy?”  Dean has to look away, his brain telling him Sam is disappointed.  Sam grabs his chin and turns his head back.

“Dean, I know you did your best.  This was a way to get you to realize what a gift you have.  Just because some assholes screwed you over doesn’t mean you roll over and give up.  I am not disappointed in you. I know that’s what you're thinking. I am so glad you put yourself out there. I'm proud of you Dean.”  Sam hugs him tightly, burying his head in Dean’s chest.

“I love you, Sammy.”  Dean closes his eyes as he kisses the top of Sam’s head.  He breathes in the scent of Sam and it always makes him feel grounded.  He lets Sam’s words roll around in his head and it takes a few minutes before he feels better and lets go.  They turn and walk up the street, hand in hand. They don’t even think about it. It's their own way to reassure each other they're not alone, and they're there to have each other’s backs.

When they get back at the hotel, Dean packs up their belongings and sits down to plan out the route back home.  He's actually kind of relieved he didn’t make it. The other contestants were too much for him to deal with anyway. He's humming by the time he gets to reading his emails.  There's another one from their Aunt Rose and he's in a good mood. He asks her to meet them in two days at the little house they call home in Topeka KS. Now they have something to look forward to when they get home.  He won’t tell Sam because he wants to surprise him, and both go to bed feeling good and excited.


End file.
